{"id":47776,"date":"2022-06-30T04:55:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-30T03:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=47776"},"modified":"2024-07-11T14:28:40","modified_gmt":"2024-07-11T13:28:40","slug":"tony-cragg-exhibition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/tony-cragg-exhibition\/","title":{"rendered":"Tony Cragg exhibition"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/craggsmall1.jpg\" alt=\"Exhibition poster\" class=\"wp-image-49842\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/craggsmall1.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/craggsmall1-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Tony Cragg has described sculpture as a counterpoint to the dominance of utility and the impoverishment of form and nature by humanity. See how that opposition looks in practice at the Albertina&#8217;s <em>Sculpture: Body and Soul<\/em> exhibition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Solo exhibition of Cragg&#8217;s works<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Features some 20 sculptures, plus drawings<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Runs Jul 7 &#8211; Nov 6, 2022<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Current <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/albertina\/\">Albertina overview &amp; info<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Other&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/events\/exhibitions\/#modernart\">contemporary art exhibitions<\/a>&nbsp;in Vienna<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sculpture: Body and Soul<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"333\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/tonycragg.jpg\" alt=\"Tony Cragg, Off the Mountain \u00a9 Tony Cragg \/ Bildrecht, Wien\" class=\"wp-image-47773\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/tonycragg.jpg 333w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/tonycragg-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 333px) 100vw, 333px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Tony Cragg, Off the Mountain, 2011; Gusseisen; Privatbesitz \u00a9 Tony Cragg \/ Bildrecht, Wien 2022; photo: Michael Richter)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tony Cragg counts as one of the world&#8217;s preeminent sculptors, notable for his abstract and figurative works using a range of materials, including the likes of kevlar as well as the more conventional steel, stone, and wood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To grasp the magnitude of his renown, consider, for example, that he is a Turner Prize winner, received a knighthood from the UK, and was awarded the Chevalier des Arts Lettres by France. Visit the German federal parliament and you&#8217;ll find his installation <em>Werdendes<\/em> outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Liverpool-born artist (who works out of Germany) receives due appreciation in summer and early autumn in Vienna with a solo exhibition at the Albertina. <em>Sculpture: Body and Soul<\/em> features some 20 sculptures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many of Cragg&#8217;s drawings also appear. In a 2017 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/artanddesign\/2017\/mar\/05\/tony-cragg-sculpture-interview-rare-category-objects\">interview<\/a> with the Guardian, he explained his enthusiasm for that medium so:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Once you move the pencil, it becomes the most complicated, fantastic journey.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Wandering through the exhibition, I found myself wanting to run a hand over the surface of the smooth flowing sculptures (I didn&#8217;t give in to temptation).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Each piece also seems to encourage you to see imaginary forms and shapes that ebb and change as you circle a work: a face, bracket fungi, an alien civilisation, an Egyptian God encrusted with aged rock, a time-lapse representation of a gymnast&#8217;s ribbon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, my imagination ran away with me. But what is art if not to inspire?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The palais ambience of the Albertina feels like an excellent fit for Cragg&#8217;s mesmerising works, which are no stranger to historical locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Cragg&#8217;s self-curated 2021 exhibition at Houghton Hall in Norfolk saw works dotted around the house and gardens of this early 18th-century estate<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>His large-scale sculptures appeared in Cologne&#8217;s St. Agnes church in 2020<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>And 2019 found various pieces in the Boboli Gardens of the Renaissance Palazzo Pitti in Florence<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Cragg&#8217;s experience with historical environments makes me yearn for a piece to appear as part of Upper Belvedere&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/carlone-contemporary\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"57612\">Carlone Contemporary series<\/a>, which places a contemporary installation among the 18th-century frescoes and architecture. (The current work there is Lena Henke&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/lena-henke-installation\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"41194\">Aldo Rossi\u2019s Sleeping Elephant<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cragg&#8217;s work has actually appeared before at Belvedere in the 2008 <em>Tony Cragg versus Franz Messerschmidt<\/em> exhibition, juxtaposing his sculptures with Messerschmidt&#8217;s famous <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/franz-xaver-messerschmidt\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"3650\">Baroque character heads<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fellow British sculptor, Marc Quinn, has just done <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/marc-quinn-exhibition\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"40848\">something similar<\/a> at the same location, but the exhibitions miss each other by a mere four days, sadly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"tickets\">Dates, tickets &amp; tips<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Enjoy Cragg&#8217;s remarkable sculptures from July 7th to November 6th, 2022. A ticket for the Albertina museum includes access to the exhibition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more contemporary sculpture work using different materials, you might want to pop into the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/heidi-horten-collection\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"47637\">Heidi Horten Collection<\/a> just over the road from the Albertina. Hans Kupelwieser&#8217;s 2022 ceiling relief in the tearoom, for example, features shaped anodised aluminium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to get to the exhibition<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Just follow the travel tips at the bottom of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/albertina\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2995\">main Albertina page<\/a>. The museum is sandwiched between the state opera house and the Hofburg palace complex that once formed the centre of the Habsburg monarchy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Find Cragg&#8217;s sculptures on the ground floor, on the left as you go up the corridor leading away from the ticket check.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Address: Albertinaplatz 1, 1010 Vienna<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1zfWanf5rPBbnTLLDuah2uixe-Nw\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tony Cragg has described sculpture as a counterpoint to the dominance of utility and the impoverishment of form and nature by humanity. See how that opposition looks in practice at the Albertina&#8217;s Sculpture: Body and Soul exhibition. Sculpture: Body and Soul (Tony Cragg, Off the Mountain, 2011; Gusseisen; Privatbesitz \u00a9 Tony Cragg \/ Bildrecht, Wien [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":49842,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-47776","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-museums","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47776"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47776\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73702,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47776\/revisions\/73702"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}